What Off Days Are For
by SplitDemonIdentity
Summary: During the 2016 Draft Xavier and Tyler have to contend with the fact that they aren't on the same roster anymore. Cross-Posted to AO3.


p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Xavier was excited when he heard the announcement that the New Day had been drafted to RAW as a set at the end of the second round, jumping up and hugging Big E and Kofi in celebration. But he quickly fell back into his seat next to Tyler who appeared to be playing with his phone for no reason besides a need to do something with his hands. Xavier pried one of Tyler's hands away from his phone and went back to holding it behind their chairs like they had been before the drafting of the New Day./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Don't worry; you'll be picked soon enough." Xavier reassured Tyler addressing his stony silence, "They're not going to split us up. They said they wouldn't split up couples."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""How many people in this room know we're a couple? How many people out on that stage running all of this know we're a couple? Do you know the numbers Xavier? Because I do and they're not promising." Tyler countered in a low, irritated whisper as he always did when he and Xavier fought in public./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""You'll be picked soon and you'll go to RAW, stop worrying. I mean Vince called you in the other day to tell you how much he liked you and Fandango; he wouldn't do that if you weren't going to go well in the draft. He doesn't bother with the locker room like that." Xavier insisted squeezing Tyler's hand as if to punctuate his statement./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"It felt like they were sitting there for hours, as Tyler remained undrafted. Watching as other couples were split up without a second thought by the managers and commissioners even while the wrestlers clung to each other and suffered through the separation in their own unique ways, some seemingly breaking up on the spot even./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Finally, when nearly everyone else had been drafted, Daniel called for Breezango sending them to Smackdown. Tyler stood and left the waiting room with Fandango to go accept his new shirt and talk to the interviewers about the result./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Having finished Tyler went backstage again, met Xavier outside the door to the locker room, and pulled him away into the depths of the arena where they could talk and not be interrupted. But Xavier had appeared to have lost his voice when they finally got there./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Breezy! Breezy! They split us up!" Xavier finally managed to get out after several minutes of pained silence./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I told you they didn't know. We're too good at hiding in plain sight. Everyone sees us as friends and thinks I'm dating 'Dango." Tyler said, "Honestly, I was expecting this result when I wasn't picked for so long."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""But we're not together anymore." Xavier squeaked./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Did we break up when the draft split us? Cause I wasn't aware of that shift." Tyler said, "Look Xavier, we'll survive this. We've been split up before and we always lasted through it. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Don't you remember all those years in FCW and NXT where I was nearly fired time and again and how I was left behind for almost two years when you got to come up here and we only got to see each other when you could make it home? Don't you remember that we survived that or did you manage to forget it all?"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""But these last nine months have been so good!" Xavier pleaded./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""The first three years were good too." Tyler said sadly, "It's only a year. We can last a year on separate shows, and then we can let the whole world know we're together, despite the rules for all I care, and we'll never have to be separated again."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I don't want to wait a year to be with you every day again. They gave us nine months together and it's not nice for them to take you away from me so soon! Can't we please just go and explain the situation? The draft's probably over now and I'm sure if we tell them they'll understand and fix things for us. They said they wouldn't split up any couples with the draft and they'll have to listen to me right? We've been together almost six years and The New Day is too important for them to ignore me over something this big. We've been together longer than basically any other couple in this company! They can't do this to us!" Xavier argued getting dangerously close to throwing a tantrum./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Stephanie isn't going to split up the New Day or let them come over to Smackdown with how high she picked you and I don't want to leave 'Dango behind when they inevitably refuse to let us both onto RAW. This tag team has been the best thing for my career ever since I left NXT and I don't want to ruin it and the chances it'll give me. Do you realize that until I got involved in this whole thing with 'Dango I hadn't won a match since January?" Tyler said pulling Xavier to him in a hug to calm down his impending meltdown, "We can last a year not being on the same show. I promise. We'll see each other on our off days and we can be together anytime we go on a tour to another country."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""You really promise?" Xavier asked./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Of course I do." Tyler answered smiling as he let Xavier go but kept holding his hand, "Show's over, let's go home."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""'Good idea, and Tyler," Xavier said as they started walking out to collect their things and head to the airport, "I love you."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I love you too Xavier." Tyler replied smiling for the first time all night./span/p 


End file.
